High temperature container



Dec. 27, 1966 R. T. NAGLER 3,294,272

HIGH TEMPERATURE CONTAINER Filed on. 12, 1964 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR :E "L 5'3 foeier r/vnczae BY 9y M TTO EY Dec. 27, 1966 R. T. NAGLER 3,294,272

HIGH TEMPERATURE CONTAINER Filed Oct. 12, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 081,667 7." #1761456 BY XV QW/LM United States Patent 3,294,272 HIGH TEMPERATURE CONTAINER Robert T. Nagler, Prairie du Sac, Wis., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force Filed Oct. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 403,419 7 Claims. (Cl. 220-6) This invention relates to containers or boxes having Walls and sides which comprise inorganic fibers embedded in an inorganic particulate cement or other ceramic material and, more particularly, relates to the method or process for making a receptacle which is adapted to have radar reflective materials packaged therein, and from which said materials may readily be dispersed into the atmosphere upon the injection of the package or container into the atmosphere from a vehicle moving at high speed.

Radar reflective material which usually consists of strips of aluminum foil or short lengths of glass fibers coated with aluminum is usually referred to as chaff, straw, or rope, and is conventionally packaged in paper containers which are carried in a vehicle which traverses the atmosphere, such as an airplane or missile.

When it is desired to utilize the material, the packages are ejected from the vehicle (injected into the atmosphere) by any known or suitable mechanism, and because the packages are traveling at the same rate as the vehicle, they are subjected to a high velocity air flow during their initial travel through the atmosphere. It is desired that the aerodynamic forces which are exerted on the packages cause the packages to be opened and their contents, the radar reflective material, to be Widely dispersed throughout the atmosphere. It is also desired that such packages have minimum weight, resist air turbulence and high temperatures, and can be devoid of adhesives holding the container together.

The container of this invention is particularly adapted for containing radar reflective materials, normally referred to as chaff, to provide a package of said material that is particularly adapted for use at high temperatures, having for an object the provision of a container or box for the dispersion of radar reflective material contained therein, which withstands high storage temperatures, opens readily when placed or injected in a high velocity air flow, and has minimum weight.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such a container which comprises a composite of inorganic fabric and inorganic rigid material which impregnates the fabric, and which may be initially provided in the form of a flat blank which is readily foldable in certain predetermined areas to form the container.

A further object is the method of forming the flat blank of a single piece of woven glass cloth, in which strips of paraflin wax are impregnated in the cloth where the folds or bends are desired, and plaster of Paris or the like is employed to cover and impregnate the surface of the cloth between the strips, then dried at or substantially at room temperature, and subsequently cured at an elevated temperature to melt and eliminate the paraflin strips to provide predetermined flexible hinge-like bendable portions, whereby the blank may be folded along the paraffin strip eliminated portions to provide a rigid container which opens easily and is resistant to high temperatures due to injection into the air stream from high speed aircraft or missiles traveling at very high velocities.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a flat fabric blank having paraflin, or the like, strips embedded on both sides thereof having substantially uniform thickness and Width, defining predetermined bend or fold lines, and a plaster-like mortar coating impregnating both sides of the fabric between the strips, to the depths of the strips, to form rigid heat resistant bottom, end and side panels and overlapping top flaps of the container when folded along the fold lines after the blank has been heated to eliminate the waxy strips.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts in the several figures.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view, partly in perspective, illustrating the first step employed in making the blank which may be erected to form the container in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a similar cross-sectional view of a portion of a blank corresponding to FIG. 1, but of a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is also a cross-sectional view in perspective of a portion of the blank, showing the second step in the process of making the blank from which a container, in accordance with the invention, may be formed.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, corresponding to that shown in FIG. 3, but showing in perspective the third step employed in preparing the blank in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view, in perspective, of a box or container formed from the blank shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 1, the woven fabric sheet or blank, woven from any suitable strands of vitreous material, such as glass, vitreous silica, mullite or the like, which may have any desired Weight, strength, and flexibility, as required for a particular application. Hydrophilic thermoplastic fusible material being in the form of strips 2, preferably of a low melting point waxy substance such as paraflin wax, ceresin wax, or low molecular weight polyethylene or the like, applied in the form of strips 2 impregnating the fabric 1, as shown, the strips 2 being located in or along those areas of the blank where the edges or corners or folds will occur in the container when it is subsequently folded and made up from the blank.

In FIG. 2 the initial blank or fabric, indicated at 3, is made of nonwoven fibers selected from the same group mentioned as suitable in connection with FIG. 1, the first step being to similarly impregnate the material along the corners or fold lines with strips 2' of the thermoplastic or paraflin-like material, similar to that used to form the strips 2 depicted in FIG. 1.

These strips 2 or 2' have a predetermined width and thickness, the thickness determining the final thickness of the rigidizing plaster or mortar material on the walls of the container.

The second step in producing the blank for the container comprises applying or impregnating the fabric in the spaces between the strips 2 or 2 with a hydrophilic inorganic pasty composition 4 such as, for instance, plaster of Paris, or the like.

The presence of the strips 2 or 2' the flat form of the blank prevents the impregnation of the fabric by the composition 4 in those areas where the strips 2 or 2' impregnate the fabric, namely, the corners and edges of the containers when the blank is folded to form the container. In all other areas the fabric 1 is caused to be impregnated by the pasty composition 4, by any suitable means such as by the use of rollers, knife coaters, dipping, slip casting or the like, to the depth equal to the thickness of the strips. Thus by any conventional means the fabric 1 is caused to be impregnated on both sides with the inorganic cement or plastic composition 4 in the areas which are not occupiedby the waxy strip material 2, preferably to the thickness equal to the thickness of the strips.

Materials which are suitable for these coatings 4 include slurries or paste made with water or other binder, of particles of plaster of Paris, fire clay, or the like.

of waxy material in reference numeral 1 denotes a The next, or fourth, step in the process or method comprises subjecting the blank of FIG. 3 to an appreciably elevated temperature which is higher than the melting point of the wax forming the strips 2 or 2, for instance, at a temperature from 130 F. to 800 F. The waxy material forming the strips 2 or 2 is thus caused to melt and flow away from the fabric 1, and the material 4 is caused to cure and harden and eliminate any moisture therein to provide the blank which is ready for folding, as seen in FIG. 4 with the hardened heat resistant panels located between the spaces formerly occupied by the waxy strips 2 or 2, forming the bottom, sides, ends and top flaps of the container as seen in FIG. 5 with the exposed fabric or web portions originally covered by the strips 2 or 2 forming the corners of the sides and ends of the container.

The next (or fifth) step is the folding of the container from the blank seen in FIG. 4 to the container, as seen in cross section and perspective in FIG. 5, the container now having stiff, heat resistant bottom, end and side panels and top flaps connected along their adjoining edges or corners by the exposed flexible fiber glass fabric, providing a container having stiff side walls and very flexible connections therebetween which is freely openable in the air stream to, or substantially to the initially flat shape of the blank to release its contents, forming an ideal heat resistant container for releasing chaff and the like into the air stream from a high speed aircraft or missile.

By suitably folding the blank of FIG. 4, the container 5, as illustrated in FIG. 5, is provided. Closure of the container 5 may be accomplished by adhesively securing the two top flaps together with a small amount of adhesive 6, the folding taking place along the areas where the flexible cloth or fabric is exposed between the relatively rigid side, top, bottom, and end panels comprising the composite glass fiber cloth 1 and impregnated material 4 on both sides thereof.

The container 5 may be provided with a wide upper or outer flap 7 extending from one of the top panels beyond the adhesive 6 to facilitate the opening of the container.

In order to facilitate a rapid opening of the container and the dispersing of its contents, suitable means may be provided to eject the container from a rapidly moving vehicle or missile, and at the same time grasp and pull upward on the flap portion 7 to disrupt the slight bond provided by the adhesive 6 and thereby open the top flaps, thus releasing the other sides and end panels for dispersing the contents into the slip stream. The exposed fabric hinges, while sealing the container, are very flexible and allow the sides and ends to open freely with no appreciable resistance after the flap portion 7 is raised to rupture the slight bond of the adhesive 6.

Other variations and modifications of the invention may, and ordinarily will be made in practice to adapt it to the numerous purposes for which it is clearly appropriafe, and, therefore, minor changes and modifications in the arrangement and construction of the parts thereof may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making an unfoldable box-like container for dispensing chaff-like material into the atmosphere from high speed aircraft or missiles which comprises, forming a flat blank of flexible cloth to provide bottom, sides, ends and top flap closure portions with predetermined fold lines therebetween to form a rectangular container, impregnating the blank along the fold lines with strips of meltable waxy material which remains solid at room temperature, impregnating the blank between the strips with a hardenable plastic compound to subsequently form rigid bottom, sides, ends and top closure flaps of the container with the impregnated waxy strips therebetween, hardening the plastic compound at substantially room temperature to solidify and harden the same without melting the waxy strips, elevating the temperature to further heat and cure the plastic composition and melt and eliminate the waxy strips and expose the flexible cloth along the fold lines formerly occupied by the waxy strips, whereby the portions of the blank coated by the solidified composition forming the bottom, sides, ends and top flap portions are freely foldable relative to each other by the exposed cloth between the edges thereof, folding the blank on the exposed fabric between the edges formerly impregnated by the waxy strips to form the box-like container with the top flaps overlapping, and applying a mild adhesive between the top flaps remote from the outer ends thereof to releasably secure the flaps together.

2. The method of making a rectangular box-like container for dispensing chaff material into the atmosphere from high-speed aircraft or missiles which comprises, forming a flat fabric blank from a piece of cloth containing the connected bottom, sides, ends and top flap portions for the container, impregnating the fabric along predetermined fold lines representing the corners and edges of the container with strips of waxy material Which are solid at room temperature and having predetermined widths and thickness, to leave the fabric of the blank between the strips exposed and nonimpregnated, impregnating the fabric of the blank between the waxy strips to the thickness of the waxy strips with a mortar-like compound to form and cover the bottom, sides, end walls, and top closure flap portions of the container with said fabric sandwiched therein, and the waxy strips located between the edges of the sides, bottom, ends and flap portions, drying the mortar-like compound at substantially room temperature to solidify the compound without melting the waxy strips, elevating the temperature after the panels forming the bottom, sides, ends and top flap portions have solidified and dried to a temperature above the aforesaid initial room temperature, to melt the waxy strips to eliminate the same from between bottom, sides, ends, and end flap portions, to make the fabric exposed between the edges of said bottom, sides, ends and end flaps freely foldable where the waxy strips were melted and eliminated, folding the blank along the exposed fabric portions between the panels to form said rectangular box-like container, and applying a light securing means between the overlapping flap portions to releasably secure the ends and side portions of the container together.

3. The method of making a receptacle which comprises forming a flat blank from a single piece of glass fiber cloth containing the bottom, sides, ends, and top flaps, foldable to form a rectangular container, impregnating both sides of the cloth along the fold lines representing the corners or edges of the folded container with strips of paraffin wax having predetermined uniform widths and thickness, while leaving the blank between strips nonimpregnated, coating and impregnating both sides of the blank between the p-araffin wax strips to the depth of the strips with a plaster of Paris mixture to form substantially rigid bottom, side and end walls and end flaps, with the glass fiber cloth sandwiched between the plaster of Paris mixture coatings, drying the plaster of Paris at substantially room temperature to dry the plaster of Paris compound, heating the blank to an appreciably elevated temperature to melt and eliminate the wax strips between the plaster of Paris panels to expose the initial glass fiber cloth between the panels to form hinge means between the panels, and folding the panels along the exposed glass fiber cloth to form the container.

4. The method of making a rectangular heat resistant box-like receptacle for packaging and dispensing chaff material packed in the receptacle into the atmosphere from high speed aircraft and missiles which comprises, forming a flat blank of .glass fiber cloth into predetermined areas comprising the bottom, sides, ends, and top flap portions of the receptable with folding lines therebetween forming corners and edges of the receptacle, impregnating the fiber cloth of the blank along the fold lines with strips of thermoplastic fusible material having uniform predetermined, widths and thickness, impregnating the glass fiber of the blank between the strips to the depth equal to the thickness of the strips with a hydrophilic pasty composition with the glass fiber cloth sandwiched therein to rigidize the portions of the blank between the strips and between the outer edges of the blank, drying the blank to remove moisture from the pasty composition while the waxy strips are in place therebetween, raising the temperature of the blank to melt and eliminate the waxy material of the strips and expose the flexible fiber cloth between the adjacent edges of the bottom, sides, ends and top flaps formerly occupied by the strips, bending the blank along the exposed flexible fabric to form the receptacle having rigid bottom, end, and side panels, and top overlapping flaps with the exposed fabric of the blank between the edges of the panels providing flexible hinge members between the panels to permit substantially free separation of the panels and opening of the receptacle to discharge the contents thereof when the receptacle is injected into the air stream from a Vehicle or missile traveling at very high velocity.

5. A blank for forming a rectangular receptacle comprising a flat sheet of flexible glass fiber clot-h having adjacent spaced rectangular connected portions constituting the bottom, ends, sides, and top flap portions of the container with said glass fiber cloth extending across said spaced rectangular portions to form hinge member between said spaced portions, strips of paraffin wax impregnating said cloth between the adjacent edges of said bottom, ends, sides, [and top flap portions having predetermined uniform widths and thickness, and adapted to be eliminated from the blank by heating, and a plaster of Paris or the like pasty material coating and impregnating said cloth in the areas between said parafiin wax strip to a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the paraflin strips and adapted to solidify between the strips to form said rigid bottom, side, end and top flap portions connected together by said fiber glass cloth, whereby heating of the blank melts and eliminates the waxy strips, whereby the panels may be freely folded relative to each other by the connecting cloth between the panels to form said rectangular receptacle.

6. A blank as set forth in claim 5, in which the flexible fiber glass cloth is impregnated on both sides along predetermined fold lines with wax to form waxy strips on both sides and opposite each other, and the blank is subsequently coated and impregnated on both sides with a hydrophilic inorganic pasty composition to the uniform depth of the waxy strips to form, when dehydrated, rigid, heat resistant panels constituting bottom, side, end closure wall portions and top flap closure portions of the receptacle connected together by the fiber glass cloth sandwiched in the waxy strip, whereby when the waxy strips are eliminated by heating, the cloth between the panels constitutes connecting hinge means to permit the panels to be folded relative to each other to form va heat resistant receptacle and are readily openable when injected into a high velocity air stream to disperse the contents therefrom into the air stream.

7. The method of making a heat resistant rapidly open-able rectangular container for dispensing chafl packed therein into the atmosphere from high speed aircraft and missiles which comprises, fabricating a blank from a sheet of glass fiber flexible cloth to provide connected bottom, ends, sides, and top closure portions having fold lines therebetween, impregnating both sides of the blank along said fold lines with strips of solidified paraflin wax having predetermined uniform widths and thickness and extending beyond both sides of the fold lines, impregnating both sides of the glass fiber cloth Within the areas bounded by the strips of paraflin to the thickness of said strips with a coating of inorganic cement, drying the cement at a room temperature between F. and F. over a predetermined period of time suflicient to solidify the cement coating, subsequently heating the blank at an elevated temperature between F. and 800 F. to further cure and harden the cement coatings and melt the strips of paraifin between the edges of the cement coating along the fold lines between the edges of the coating to eliminate the strips and expose the glass fiber cloth between the coatings toprovide flexible fiber glass cloth hinge means between and connecting the coating, and folding the portions of the blank impregnated by the coating, along the fold lines to form the rectangular container, comprising heat resistant panels constituting the bottom, sides, ends and top flap portions connected by the exposed glass fiber cloth between the panels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,318 1/1939 Kryder -52 2,421,613 6/1947 Gray et a1.

FOREIGN PATENTS 12,937 7/1895 Great Britain.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING AN UNFOLDABLE BOX-LIKE CONTAINER FOR DISPENSING CHAFF-LIKE MATERIAL INTO THE ATMOSPHERE FROM HIGH SPEED AIRCRAFT OR MISSILES WHICH COMPRISES, FORMING A FLAT BLANK OF FLEXIBLE CLOTH TO PROVIDE BOTTOM, SIDES, ENDS AND TOP FLAP CLOSURE PORTIONS WITH PREDETERMINED FOLD LINES THEREBETWEEN TO FORM A RECTANGULAR CONTAINER, IMPREGNATING THE BLANK ALONG THE FOLD LINES WITH STRIPS OF MELTABLE WAXY MATERIAL WHICH REMAINS SOLID AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, IMPREGNATING THE BLANK BETWEEN THE STRIPS WITH A HARDENABLE PLASTIC COMPOUND TO SUBSEQUENTLY FORM RIGID BOTTOM, SIDES, ENDS AND TOP CLOSURE FLAPS OF THE CONTAINER WITH THE IMPREGNATED WAXY STRIPS THEREBETWEEN, HARDENING THE PLASTIC COMPOUND AT SUBSTANTIALLY ROOM TEMPERATURE TO SOLIDIFY AND HARDEN THE SAME WITHOUT MELTING THE WAXY STRIPS, ELEVATING THE TEMPERATURE TO FURTHER HEAT AND CURE THE PLSTIC COMPOSITION AND MELT AND ELIMINATE THE WAXY STRIPS AND TO EXPOSE THE FLEXIBLE CLOTH ALONG THE FOLD LINES FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY THE WAXY STRIPS, WHEREBY THE PORTIONS OF THE BLANK COATED BY THE SOLIDIFIED COMPOSITION FORMING THE BOTTOM, SIDES, ENES AND TOP FLAP PORTIONS ARE FREELY FOLDABLE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER BY THE EXPOSED CLOTH BETWEEN THE EDGES THEREOF, FOLDING THE BLANK ON THE EXPOSED FABRIC BETWEEN THE EDGES FORMERLY IMPREGNATED BY THE WAXY STRIPS TO FORM THE BOX-LIKE CONTAINER WITH THE TOP FLAPS OVERLAPPING, AND APPLYING A MILD ADHSEIVE BETWEEN THE TOP FLAPS REMOTE FROM THE OUTER ENDS THEREOF TO RELEASABLY SECURED THE FLAPS TOGETHER. 